All of Time & Space
by Ghost in the Corner
Summary: It's been months since Sam jumped into Hell, and Dean keeps throwing himself into more dangerous hunts. It's not until he meets a mysterious man calling himself 'the Doctor' that he decides to take a break. Even if that break isn't really that different from his regular life.
1. Chapter 1

The unbelievable happened. Again. Sam was gone. Gone for good this time. When he went off to Stanford, Dean could always call or go visit him, despite what Sam wanted. When he was stabbed in the back by Jake Talley, all he had to do to see his brother again was sell his soul. But this time, though, this time Sam jumped into The Cage in Hell, dragging Lucifer and Michael in with him. And worse yet, nothing can bring him back, not even Cas. That was it. Dean was truly on his own this time.

He had nowhere to go and nothing to do but hunt. He couldn't think of a life where he didn't hunt, no matter how much he wanted to go to Lisa. So Dean just continued life on the road.

It's been roughly three months since Sam jumped into the Pit. Dean's worked about 40 or so jobs since, each more deadly than the last. That combined with his lack of sleep and sustenance make Dean an easy to kill target. It's gotten so bad that Bobby outright refused to give him anymore hunts, and demanded that he takes some time to relax. Despite Bobby's orders, Dean continued to hunt.

He heard of a mutilation in a small town in Montana, thinking it would just be some werewolf. But it was nothing like he expected. After some investigating, Dean found he was hunting something called a 'nachzehrer'. It's a monster that's mixed between a vampire and a ghoul that can turn people by biting them. The only way to gank the monsters was to find the pack's alpha, which wasn't going to be an easy feat. Over half the town had been turned into these things. Dean was just surprised that he hasn't been converted yet, seeing as the people here were becoming those things at an alarming rate. He's going to have to work faster. He needs backup.

"Dean!" Bobby shouted when he picked up the phone. "Where the hell are you? Why have you been ignor-"

"You know what Bobby, you can yell at me all you want when this is over." Dean said sternly. "But right now, I've got a hunt like you wouldn't believe and need a few hunters for backup."

"Dammit, Dean! I told you to stop hunting, you ignore me for weeks, and now you need me and Rufus to come pull your ass out of the fire! What the fuck are you thinking?!"

Dean ignored the comment and continued. "I've found these things, nachzehrer or something like that, and they're turning people so fast, I hardly believe it. There's about 200 of them out here!" Bobby was silent for a moment.

"You need to get out of there." He spoke with urgency. "You need to get my house as soon as possible. I'm going to call every hunter I know and we're going to find out what the hell is going on there." Dean was quiet. "Did you hear me? Get the hell out of there! You're going to get yourself killed!"

"Alright, don't get your panties in a bunch. I'm on my way." Dean scoffed before he hung up. Though he said he'd go straight to Bobby's, he wasn't keen on it. People were getting turned faster and faster, and so many innocent people could get hurt or turned. Like hell he would let that happen.

And Dean thinks he's got it figured out. A way to get rid the infestation and turn everyone back. There was this one guy, he couldn't think of the name, but this guy was a person of interest on just about every disappearance since he moved to town a decade back. He could be the alpha. He needs to take that son of a bitch down.

But first, he needed a penny. Specifically a penny manufactured before 1982, when they were mostly cooper. The only way to kill the alpha was to stuff it down his throat and take his head off. Since he hadn't eaten in days, Dean decided to pop into a Biggerson's. On his walk there though, he bumped into the strangest guy he'd ever seen. He looked a bit moody, yet cautious, and was dressed in a purple blazer with a bowtie. It was ugly as hell. When their shoulders knocked into each other, the man just smiled awkwardly and apologized before he quickly scuttled away. Dean also noted he spoke in a British accent. He shrugged the guy off and went into the diner.

"Hey gorgeous." He smiled at the hostess inside. She smiled back flirtatiously, twisting her finger in some hair. "Would you mind breaking this dollar bill for me? I need it in pennies, though." Her smile wavered for a moment, but she went over the the register and broke his bill. While she was doing that, Dean looked about the restaurant. There wasn't a lot of people. Probably because most of the people here are flesh eating monsters. He thought. But the aroma of food everywhere made his stomach let out a huge grumble.

The hostess came back, all the change cupped in her hands. She passed it off to Dean.

"Could I do anything else for you, sir?" She asked as polite as possible. Dean thought for a moment, then decided against it. He'd eat later, when all these people were safe.

"No, but thanks for the change." He said as he managed to stuff all the pennies in his pocket.

"Alright. Have a nice day, sir." The hostess smiled as he turned to leave. Dean was heading back to his motel when his phone rang again. He knew it was Bobby, but he'll answer it later, after all this shit was dealt with. Dean took in the cool evening air as he pulled a few pennies out of his right pocket. 1997, 2002, 2004, 1985. Nope. He shoved them into his left pocket and started again. 2009, 2009, 1982, 1983, 2005, 2004, 1991, 1996…

This continuous cycle of pennies wore on until he heard somebody scream. Dean's head bolted up to be treated with an alarming site; a cloud of gold mist was rolling down the street behind him. The people caught in it had dropped to the ground, like they were dead. And Dean wasn't going to find out if they were or not right now.

The pennies clattered to the ground as Dean took off running. There were about 15 people running in front of him, going just slowly enough that meant that Dean was in real danger. He turned to see the mist getting closer, a few more bodies in its wake. The people ahead of him finally reached an intersection, where most of them turned. They had gone so slow that Dean didn't notice the other street and continued running down the same street. The mist was closer now. He began charging towards an ally before someone grabbed his arm, halting him. Dean looked up to find the man he had bumped into earlier. This time, he had an urgent look about him.

"I need your help." The man spoke quickly. "I'm the Doctor, and I know how to fix this, but I need you to help me."


	2. Chapter 2

Dean stared at the man calling himself "the Doctor" in utter confusion.

"What?" He said blankly. The man's eyes made quick time of rolling themselves before a small buzzing was heard. Dean looked on in terror to see the yellow cloud mere feet away.

"Come on!" The man shouted, dragging Dean down the alley. As soon as Dean turned his head in the direction he was being pulled, his confusion grew. There was a blue box marked 'Police Box' at the end of the alley. That must've been where they was heading to. Dean was about to stop and punch the guy, but when he turned his head, he saw the yellow cloud just more than a foot away. He picked up his pass, quickly following him into the tiny-

Dean gaped as the door shut itself behind him. The blue box, the tiny blue box, was so much bigger on the inside! He was frozen in his track as the man, er, the Doctor, was maneuvering different levers on the panel in the center of the… room? Suddenly, the whole thing began shaking and making slow screeching noises. Dean stumbled onto the railing to his right, still in awe of where he was.

As abruptly as the shaking and noises began, they stopped. Dean stared at the man, who was grinning at him with a mad smile. He felt nauseous. Before he did anything, he had to be sure he wouldn't be sick.

"Ok, what the hell is going on?!" Dean screamed as he straightened up, sure he wouldn't get sick. The man's grin faltered before becoming even wider, which was accompanied by giggles.

"Amazing, isn't it?" He spoke after a moment. Dean blinked at him. "It's called the TARDIS. Time and Relative Dimension in Space." The Doctor's smile disappeared as he took on a mocking tone. "'Oh my goodness, Doctor! This is amazing! It's bigger on the inside! How is this-"

"What the hell is going on!?" Dean screamed again. He made impenetrable eye contact with the Doctor. A quick look of fear appeared in the Doctor's eyes, which then turned to hard seriousness.

"When I bumped into you on the street, I could tell there was something different about you." The Doctor began walking towards Dean. "Do you have any idea about what's going on in this town?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." Dean replied, slowly approaching the Doctor. "There's infestation of creatures called 'nachzehrer'. I was just about to deal with them before you kidnapped me."

The Doctor gave him an incredulous look. "What are you talking about?"

"Nachzehrer. They're supernatural creatures that-"

"Supernatural?!" The Doctor laughed. "You- you think that supernatural things are real! My god!" He laughed so hard, he had to grip the rail next to him to keep from falling.

But the serious look on Dean's only deepened. He rolled up one of his sleeves. "You see this scar?" He yelled. The Doctor looked at him, his laughs beginning to die out. "This one's from the time I fought off three selkies." He pulled up a pant leg, revealing deep looking scratch marks. "And this is from a time where I stumbled onto a huge vampire nest." Dean took off his jacket, and rolled up the short sleeve. "And finally, this one's from when an angel pulled me out of hell. So, go ahead and tell me the supernatural isn't real." He ended with a smug look towards the man in front of him.

The Doctor felt amazed. Astounded. It's been a long since he'd learned something new. He took another step towards the man in front of him looking at the handprint. He felt a small smile come onto his face. "An angel?"

"Yea. He's named Castiel."

"And he pulled you out of Hell?"

Dean gulped. "Yes."

"Amazing." The Doctor beamed. "I, I didn't think it was..."

"While we're talking about seemingly impossible things, would you like to explain where we are?" The hunter asked. He was getting impatient, but he knew that if he wanted to live, he needed to stay calm. The shorter man smiled largely again.

"Space."

Dean's eyes rolled. "And you're an alien?" The shorter man nodded. "Riiiiiiight." He sighed. This guys was probably tricking him. This must be the guy he's looking for. He stepped back from the man in front of him. Turning quickly, he made for the door and shoved it open, the world before him. No, literally. Dean almost fell out of the thing… TARDIS? He was lucky enough to be caught by a hand. The Doctor smiled down at him before pulling him back inside.

He blinked. "So… aliens?"


	3. Chapter 3

"So… aliens?"

"Yep." The Doctor replied with a little smirk. "Aliens." Dean nod- "Well, not really aliens. Alien technology. They're called nanogenes. They're like little nurse bots. They repair any injury found on a living being. Apparently, they healed one of these… nachzehrer, and seem to think that that's how humans are built."

"So how are we-"

"I've located the control console just on the edge of this town." The man began running around the thing in the center of the room- the control console, Dean guessed- maneuvering switches and levers. "I need human DNA to disable to reset the nanogenes' programming and turn everyone back." The room- TARDIS?- began shaking and moaning again.

Dean gripped the nearby handles again. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he thinks they were moving again. Probably to the nanogenes control console. God, how was this so easy? Nothing was ever easy in his life. Was this God giving him a break? Finally. After all the shit he's been through, he deserved one.

The TARDIS stopped (parked itself?) after what felt like mere seconds. Dean straightened himself, only given a moment of grace before his arm was stabbed by the Doctor. The alien looked up at him awkwardly.

"Sorry," He smiled. "I need human DNA to make this work."

"Jeez. The least you could've done was warn me." The hunter looked down at his arm when the Doctor removed the syringe and put a cloth over the puncture.

"By the way, I never asked for your name."

"Dean." He said quietly. "Dean Winchester."

The Doctor smiled, and gestured toward the door. Both men quickly walked out the door. Dean didn't know what to expect, probably insane chaos or something like that, but no. It looked peaceful. They were in the middle of a field by what probably was control console. It was nice.

The Doctor, however, ran towards the console. He opened a hatch and began doing… something.

"Dean!" He said. "Get over here, now!" Dean quickly obliged. "Ok, ok, stand right there." He went where the alien was directing him, by a large opening. Dean looked towards the Doctor for more instructions, but the man returned to his quick typing.

The hunter stood where he was, scared to do anything else, when a familiar buzzing appeared. He turned in horror to see the cloud coming towards them.

"Doc!" He called back.

"Don't move!"

Dean turned his head back to the approaching yellow cloud. He was getting very nervous, he didn't know what was going to happen. The cloud was about ten feet away when he took a step away.

"Dean, don't move!" The Doctor bellowed. Dean stopped in his tracks, frozen by fear when the nanogenes engulfed him.

He expected a tingling sensation, or instant pain, but nothing happened. He slowly opened an eye from where he had shut them. There was a thick layer of gold, slightly blurring the quiet fields. He slowly began to turn around. Instead of an empty spot on the field, the Doctor was gleefully smiling. Dean didn't know if he should be terrified or excited.

"Uh…" He stuttered. "Doc?"

"Don't worry." The Doctor spoke over the noise. "They're just recalculating the genetic code of human DNA." Dean looked at him confused. "They're fixing their mistake."

Dean slowly nodded. The nanogenes were still buzzing loudly around him. It was unsettling, but he was pretty sure he wasn't in any danger. The Doctor seemed like a pretty nice guy, and now, he had no choice but to trust the man. He watched as the Doctor returned to the console and pressed a few buttons.

Suddenly, the mass engulfing him moved towards the Doctor. They were swimming around around his hands. The Doctor looked at him with a huge, bright smile.

"Everybody lives…" He murmured. Dean looked at him, his eyes were watery. "Just this once, Dean, everybody lives!" He thrusted his arms forward in the direction the came in. They flew that way quickly going to return everyone to normal. Dean's eyes were as wide as saucers as they watched the golden cloud fly away.

"So…" Dean slowly stepped toward the Doctor. "What?"

The Doctor laughed. "Yea. That's usually how people react when they're introduced to me for the first time."

"No, well, yea, but," Dean stuttered, rubbing the back of his head. "What're those things going to do?"

"I told you, the nanogenes are going to fix their mistake. Since they know how human biology is supposed to look now, they're going to repair everyone they changed."

"Huh." Dean looked off into the distance. "That's… amazing."

"So," The Doctor snapped him from his thoughts. "Supernatural creatures are real? Like, vampires and stuff?"

Dean smirked. "Yea. They're all real. Ghosts, werewolves, demons, you name it, I've probably seen it."

"Ghouls?"

"Yep."

"Shapeshifters?"

"Yep."

The Doctor looked at him with an amazed look. "It feels weird, learning something new about Earth. I thought I knew everything."

"You're telling me." Dean laughed. "I mean, aliens? I've seen so much shit before, I thought that's everything I'd ever see." They both laughed.

"Would you like to see more of it?"

"More of what?" Dean asked, confused.

"More of this." he gestured to the machine and himself. "More aliens, more planets."

"Really? You want to travel with me?" Dean raised an eyebrow.

"Yea. You're capable, smart, adventurous. Just the kind of person I'd like to be friends with."

Dean though for a moment, then smiled. "Yea. Sure."

The Doctor clapped his hands and jumped in excitement. He began bounding towards the TARDIS, Dean following close behind.

Once they were both inside, the Doctor snapped the doors shut and ran up to the console. "Dean Winchester," he began, grinning from ear to ear, "are you ready to go throughout time and space?"

"I'm sorry, did you say time and space?" Dean chuckled, approaching the Doctor. "Prove it."

The Doctor's smile somehow grew wider as he ran around his console, choosing their first destination. When he turned to Dean, he saw the hunter starring at him in awe.

* * *

He heard it. He knew he did. The familiar sound of Dean's ringtone. He found it only when he turned down an alley. It was just sitting there, on the ground.

Fuck. What shit has he gotten himself into this time?

The man bent over and picked up the cell phone. He then dialed the number he needed to call.

"Dean?!" Bobby said quickly. "What happened to-"

"Bobby, it's Sam." Sam interuppted before Bobby could get worked up. "Dean's not here. He's gone."

"... Balls."


	4. Chapter 4

Bobby was pissed. He told that damn idjit to wait for backup, but no one ever listens to Bobby. Now, Dean was missing. The only sign that he was even there was his motel room and the impala. He could've been turned into one of those things. But that's the other weird thing. They all mysteriously disappeared. Nothing but humans in the town. And Sam was positive that they were all human. No monsters anywhere.

And how could things get worse? Crowley still had his soul. And that jackass was now the King of Hell. And, and Crowley was forcing him, Sam, and a ton of other hunters to hunt and bag monsters for him. He had no idea what for, but the King of Hell promised to give him his wife back. How could he say no to that?

Tell Dean, that's how. For some reason, Sam had insisted on Bobby not telling Dean that his brother was alive. He said he didn't need him, and had a new hunting partner. So Dean had probably hunted himself into an early grave just because Sam refused to tell him he was alive.

Everything was just... just so... "GAH!" Bobby yelled as he threw an empty bottle of whiskey onto the wall. Those damn boys. Heads stuck so far up their asses that they can't sense the well-being of anyone else.

"Bobby! You ok?" He heard Sam say as he came into the house.

"Yea, yea." Bobby muttered. He shot a glare when the tall man entered the study. But his look quickly turned to confusion when an older man and a young woman followed Sam in. "Uh... Sam? Who're these people?"

"Right. This is my grandfather, Samuel. And my cousin Gwen. I hunt with them."

That did it. Bobby shot up from his seat, locking eyes with Sam. "You've been hunting with these stiffs over your brother? Your brother who's missing?! Have you lost your mind?!" Sam just shrugged emotionless.

"You are you calling a stiff, jackass?" Samuel retorted. "We're the ones who stuck with him."

"I know for a fact that Dean nearly got himself killed looking for his brother! He would've stuck with him no matter what!" Bobby looked over to Sam again. "Why did you even tell me not to tell him you're alive?"

"I thought he was with Lisa. I wanted him to live a good life."

"But what about when you found out he was still hunting? Why didn't you tell him then?"

"I've been doing some pretty decent hunts without him. I was planning on telling him, but now I can't."

"Sam. Don't be snide. Your brother disappeared." Gwen snapped.

"Gwen." Samuel growled. "Stop."

"He shouldn't be disrespecting his brother the way he is."

Samuel pinned her against the doorframe. "Not. Now." Gwen glared up at him, but didn't speak.

Bobby huffed. It was official; he strongly disliked everyone in the room. Even Sam, who was drastically different than before he went into the Pit. The old man sighed before the fluttering of wings filled the room.

"Bobby," Castiel began. "I came as soon as I could."

"Cas." Bobby greeted. He looked up to find the hunting trio nodding and waving at the angel. "Did you find anything?"

"Nothing. I checked the town Dean was in last. It is likely that no supernatural creatures were involved with his disappearance."

"But that's impossible, Cas." Sam said. "The only things that would want Dean are monsters. What else could've possibly taken him?"

"Humans, likely. There can't have been anything else that took him."

"Great. So we're hunting humans." The tall man rolled his eyes.

"It wouldn't be that complicated, Sam." Samuel said calmly. "Maybe he was taken by hunters. Who would know?"

"Yea. And maybe he was abducted by aliens." Sam retorted, sarcastically waving his hands around.

"Sam." Castiel boomed. "Now's not the time for jokes. Aliens do not exist."


	5. Chapter 5

The Doctor beamed at Dean. This was always his favourite part, taking someone out for their very first adventure. It never ceased to amaze him how they reacted with their first brush of the universe.

The TARDIS landed at their first destination. It was one of his favourite places in the universe. It was beautiful, peaceful, and always filled with kind people.

He turned to Dean, smiling brightly. Dean was also smiling. It seemed like he hadn't smiled in a long time. Strange.

"So," the Doctor jumped in front of Dean. "are you ready to go?"

"Hell yeah." Dean smirked, strutting toward the doors. "Where are we?"

The Doctor grinned even wider. "Close your eyes."

Dean blinked. "What?"

"Just close your eyes!" Dean laughed a little and did as he was told. The Doctor led him outside of the TARDIS, snapping the doors shut behind him.

"The light you feel on your eyelids, that's the light of an alien sun."

"I'll take your word for it." Dean chuckled.

"Alright," the Doctor said as he placed Dean right where he wanted him. "are you ready?"

Dean nodded before he opened his eyes to see the universe. He gasped in awe.

"Welcome to the Rings of Akhaten." the Doctor was smiling madly.

"Oh my God." Dean said, absolutely spellbound.

"I know. But wait, wait, wait. In about 5, 4, 3, 2… look at that."

Just as he said that, an asteroid moved, revealing the golden pyramid sitting on the asteroid closest to the sun. Dean gasped again.

"What is that?" Dean murmured.

"It's the pyramid of the Rings of Akhaten. A holy site for the Sound Singers of Akhate."

"What?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Seven planets, all orbiting the same star, all of them sharing the same belief that life in the universe originated here, on that planet." He pointed to the pyramid.

"Seriously? All life?"

"In the universe, yeah."

Dean turned to him. "Did it?"

"Well," the Doctor shrugged. "It's what they believe. It's a nice story."

"This is…" he looked around. "This is amazing."

The Doctor patted his shoulder and gestured toward the TARDIS. Dean look down at him, confused. "Do you want to see it up close?"

Dean smiled. "Hell yea." The Doctor offered him his hand. After a moment, Dean took it. The Doctor ran into the TARDIS. The ship landed in a small closet down on Tiaanamat. The Doctor and Dean ran outside to see all the action. Dean looked completely amazed by all the sights before him;

The market was bustling with life, aliens of many species everywhere. They were all trading, eating, talking, praying. All of the market stalls were full with people.

"What are all of these things?" Dean asked, chuckling a little.

"These people are mostly species from the local system. Oh!" he pointed to a light blue reptile-like creature. "There goes some Pan-Babylonians. A Lugarliraikush. Uh… some Eukanians. A Hooloovoo. Ah!" he approached one of the many people and began communicating with it in Kodonian. "That chap's a Terraberserker of the Kodonian belt." the Doctor turned to Dean as the Terraberserker walked away. "You don't see many of them around anymore. Ho ho! That's an Ultramanta!" he ran up to it, overly excited.

He turned and scuttled back to Dean, smiling. "You know, I forget how much I like it here. We should come here more often."

"You've been here before?" Dean looked a little confused.

"Yes, yes, yes. I came here a long time ago with my granddaughter." he turned around and ran towards some of the stalls.

He could hear Dean stop. "Wait, what?!" Dean called.

The Doctor stopped at a fruit stand. There was a small basket of glowing blue fruit. He smelt it. "Mmm!" he picked the basket up and brought it over to Dean, who just caught up. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and scanned it. "Exotic fruit of some description." Dean picked one up and took a bite. "Non toxic, non hallucinogenic, high in free radicals and low in other stuff. I shouldn't wonder."

"Holy crap." he said, his mouth still full of the fruit. "This is amazing." He hastily took another bite.

The Doctor smiled and chuckled. "Come on." he swung his head back. "Let's go explore."

Dean followed him as he began walking through the crowded market. "So," he began, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. "Why are all these things here?"

"They're not things, they're people. And they're all here for the Festival of Offerings. It happens every thousand years or so when the Rings align. It's quite the big thing locally, like Pancake Tuesday." the Doctor led on.

"Oh!" When he turned around, Dean was talking to a Ka'enwod. "Uh… Doctor?" the human called.

"Aarf! Aa aa aarf! Aarf aarf!" the Doctor said to the Ka'enwod.

"Um, Doc? What is it? Why is it angry?" Dean looked on wearily.

"It's not an it! It's a she! Dean, meet Dor'een. Dor'een, meet Dean!" Dean waved as Dor'een greeted him. "She was just trying to ask you if fancy renting a moped." Dor'een moved over to display the moped, barking about its quality.

"Ruff!" Dean barked. The Doctor smiled at him. "Ruff ruff!

"So, how much does that cost?" Dean asked him.

"Not money, no. Something with sentimental value. A photograph, love letter, something like that."

"Why?"

"That's what they use for currency here. Psychometry. Objects physically imprinted with their own history. The more they're treasured, the more they're worth."

"That's… kind of cruel." Dean furrowed his eyebrows.

"It's much easier than using little bits of paper."

"Why don't you pay?" Dean turned to some of the booths behind them.

"What?"

"You're from outer space, and super old, you must have something sentimental."

The Doctor pondered that for a moment. He reached into his jacket and pulled out his screwdriver. He huffed and stuffed it back into his coat. Then he looked over at Dean.

Dean was absolutely fascinating. He was clearly damaged, maybe in the same ways he was. He called himself… what was it? A hunter? Who apparently has fought monsters and demons and things like that. He clearly wasn't too keen on meeting creatures that weren't, or at least, didn't look human. What has he gone through?

Anything he's gone through doesn't matter anymore. Dean was depressed. The Doctor knew he could help with that. And he's sure he's already started lifting Dean's spirits. 'Cause right now, this slayer of monsters and hunter of demons is staring intently at a hairdryer.

The Doctor smiled. Ah, yes. This was always his favourite part.


	6. Chapter 6

Dean couldn't find the words. Or _any_ words, really. Just hours ago, he was hunting a pack of monsters in the 21st century on Earth. Now, he was standing on an alien planet during who knows when, looking at some sort of futuristic canon.

He turned around, about to ask the Doctor about what machine that was. But he was gone. Dean looked around for him.

"Doctor?" he called, walking down the alley. No matter which way he looked, he couldn't see the Doctor anywhere. He squinted his eyes, trying to see if he was in the nearby crowds. "Doctor!"

Suddenly, he felt someone bump into his leg. He turned around and looked at them. It was a little girl, dressed in all red robes with a terrified look on her face.

"Are you alright?" he asked her, smiling gently. The little girl just shook her head quickly and took off running again.

He watched her as she turned the corner. When he turned around, two men dressed in the same red robes the little girl was wearing.

"Have you seen her?" one of them asked.

"Who?"

"The Queen of Years?" the other one said.

Dean blinked. "Who?"

One of the men rolled his eyes and they continued passed him. Dean looked after them, squinting his eyes. The men rounded the opposite corner the little girl went.

Dean began jogging after the little girl, slightly worried. Was she the Queen of Years? Why was she terrified? He just needed to make sure she was okay, then he would try to find the Doctor.

He entered what looked to be a storage room, but was a very big room. There was also a lot of big machines. She could be anywhere in here.

"Hello?" he said to the empty room. He began taking careful steps, going deeper into the room. Dean whipped around when something crashed somewhere. He squinted, trying to look deeper into the darkness.

From behind him, there were small, rampant footsteps echoing in the chamber. He turned around to come face to face with the little girl.

"Hey." He said cautiously, putting his hands up to show that he wasn't a threat. "It's okay, I'm here to help with whatever's wrong."

The little girl wavered, debating with herself. She took off running a moment later. She must be fast, because she was completely out of sight when Dean ran after her.

He continually scanned the room, searching for any sign of her. He took slow steps so he wouldn't scare her away. But she was absolutely gone.

There was another loud crash from behind him. He jumped, turning around and gasping in surprise. And there was the little girl was standing in the middle of a pile of metal-whatevers.

The girl looked terrified, and guilty.

Dean smiled and started to giggle. He wanted to make her feel as safe as possible, so he didn't do anything else.

Evidently, the girl started laughing too. It was a sign that it was okay to continue.

"Are you okay?" He asked her, still smiling. She nodded wordlessly. "Why are out here on your own?"

It took the girl a moment to answer. "I was hiding."

"Why?"

The girl blinked, furrowing her eyebrows. "You don't know me?"

Dean shook his head. "Afraid not."

"So why did you follow me?" She looked like she was just about to cry.

"Because you looked like you needed help." Dean half smiled.

The girl started shaking her head, stepping back. "I don't believe you."

"That doesn't matter." Dean opened his stance, trying to get through to the naive kid. "Trust me, I don't know who you are, or who you're supposed to be. All I know is that you're a little kid, and you need help."

"Really?" The girl asked cautiously.

Dean put his hand over his heart. "Promise."

"Can you help me?" She said, stepping forward eagerly.

"I'm still here, aren't I?"

"I need to hide. Please, can you hide me?"

Dean was about to respond when an ear splitting whine began echoing through the chamber. There was a black smoke forming on the other side of the room, behind a bunch of broken down machines.

It doesn't matter whether he's on Earth or if he's in space; no matter what, Dean Winchester will _run_ if he sees black smoke.

He offered his hand to the girl without saying anything. Clearly they both knew the urgency of the situation. The girl took it, and they began running.

" _Merry…"_ something behind them whispered. " _Where are you, Merry…"_

Dean began running faster until they were out in the markets. He began leading her to the TARDIS. It seemed like the safest place at the moment.

But there were so many people in the market, and it would be hard to get her there without people recognizing her if she's so important. But that doesn't matter. He'll get her there, no matter how much hiding and squeezing through crevices it takes.

Dean couldn't help but sigh in relief at seeing the time machine. He grabbed the handles and pushed them, opening the doors.

"What the hell?" He murmured in frustration, trying unsuccessfully to open the doors. He pushed again, and nothing happened. He pushed and he pulled and he jimmied, yet nothing worked.

"What are you doing with that box?" He heard a small voice ask.

"I'm trying to open it, but-" Dean stepped back, looking at it. "I don't think it likes me."

The little girl looked at him worriedly before sneaking behind the TARDIS. Dean watched her as she scurried behind the obnoxious blue box.

"Hey, kid!" He yell-whispered.

She stuck her head out. "My name's Merry."

"Uh, ok." He began making his way toward her, squeezing himself between a rock and a box. _God_ is it a tight squeeze.

"So, Merry." He smiled lightly. "What's going on? Is there anything after you?"

"No, not at all." She looked at the ground, refusing to look at Dean. "I'm just scared."

"Of what?" Dean moved low enough that his face was in her field of vision.

"Getting it wrong."

"What do you think you're gonna get wrong?"

Merry narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you really not from around here?"

Dean chuckled. "You see this box?" Merry nodded. "It's a spaceship. It's what I came here in, from thousands of miles away."

"Wow. Really?"

Dean nodded proudly. "Yup."

"How'd you get a box this tiny to fly through space?"

"Well, I- It doesn't matter. What do you think you're gonna get wrong?"

"I'm the Queen of Years, and today's the day I sing for Grandfather."

Dean looked at her. "Grandfather?"

Merry rolled her eyes slightly before continuing. "The Queen of Years is the vessel of Akhaten's history. I know everything about what's happened here. And Grandfather, he's a god. And I have to sing a song for him. A very special song, one that I can't mess up." She looked Dean in the eyes. "I'm really scared."

Dean huffed, smiling. "Everyone's scared of something. Especially when they're young, like you. I used to be scared of monsters. I'd have nightmares about them attacking my family. SO bad that I'd wet my bed."

Merry giggled. "Really?"

"Really. But you know what I did?" Merry shook her head when he paused. "I started fighting them. I was young, but I fought evil monsters that were killing people. And I defeated them. The monsters would go away because of me. No one had to be scared of monsters anymore because there were people, like me, who took care of them."

"And you were never scared again?" Merry looked up at him, hopeful.

"Of course I was. A lot of times. But I was scared of monsters. Now," Dean turned more towards her. "Why are you so scared of getting this song wrong?"

"I don't want to make Grandfather angry."

"Do you think you'll get it wrong?" Merry shrugged. "I don't. In fact, I think you'll get it so right, Grandfather is going to be very happy. And if he's not, I'll be there to protect you." Dean smiled warmly.

Merry smiled brighter than the sun, and threw herself at Dean. He hugged her back, rubbing his hand on her back. He could tell that she was still nervous, but he wanted to reassure her.

"Are you ready to go please Grandfather?" He smiled when she pulled away. She nodded, standing up. Dean stood up with her, grabbing her hand and leading her to the open market.

The two men from showed up in an instant. Dean gently pushed her toward them, smiling at her the whole time. The men started fussing over Merry, putting a lei over her as they began leading her away. She looked back at him, scared. He smiled as hard as he could, putting his thumbs up. He stayed that way until she was out of sight.

"So," Dean jumped as the Doctor came up from behind him. "What've you been up to?" He offered Dean one of those weird blue fruits.

Dean accepted the offering. "Just making my way around." He took a bite of the fruit.


	7. Chapter 7

The Doctor looked around boredly. There weren't many people around in the markets anymore. Probably because the ceremony was about to start. He smiled.

"Follow me." He said as he began walking towards the amphitheatre.

"Where are we going now?" Dean asked from behind him through a mouthful of food. The Doctor didn't respond, but kept leading Dean through the crowd so he could see what was about to happen.

The Doctor's only ever seen this once before, quite a few faces ago, but he can still remember it clearly.

Dean rushed to keep up with him as he entered the theatre, tossing the fruit to the side on the way in. They jogged in while looking for seats.

"Sorry, sorry. Excuse me. Sorry." The Doctor whispered as he walked through the crowd to the only available seats. Dean followed him silently, looking a little uncomfortable as they sat down.

Dean was looking carefully at the Queen of Years. His face, it was full of emotions. Worry, regret, hope, sadness. But that was when the girl was facing the pyramid.

She turned around and locked eyes with Dean. The Doctor was surprised, but Dean's eyes crinkled as he smiled and waved at her. The Queen smiled too, giving a little wave back. She looked like she had more confidence than before just from looking at him.

The Doctor narrowed his eyes at Dean. He's already got a list with a couple hundred questions for this so-called 'monster hunter'. Each moment with him added more and more to the list.

The Queen turned back around, standing straighter than before. She took a deep breath, and, after a moment, began to sing.

" _Akhaten_." She sang, drawing out the notes. " _Oh god of, oh god of, oh god of Akhaten_."

The Doctor pulled out the tourist's pamphlet he found while wandering around the asteroid. He put on the glasses and read about the ceremony.

"So," He said quietly, but loud enough to get Dean's attention. "They're singing to the mummy in the temple. They call it the Old God, or sometimes Grandfather." Dean nodded, not taking his eyes off of the girl.

" _Oh god of Akhaten_."

"Why are they singing?" Dean asked.

"This is a lullaby. It's supposed to feed Grandfather, and keep him sound asleep. It's a song without end, being carried on through generation after generation after generation." The Doctor paused, looking hopefully at the pyramid. "It's called the Long Song."

" _Akhaten_."

Suddenly, everyone in the crowd put their left hands up, palm facing the sky, holding an object out towards the sun. As soon as they were in the air, the objects started disappearing.

"What are they doing?" Dean looked around at all the people, fascinated.

"They presenting offerings to the Old God." The Doctor replied, looking around at some of the things the people had. "They're gifts of value. Mementos to feed the Old God." He looked at Dean, who was smiling as he watched the offerings disappear. The Doctor couldn't help but smile, too.

" _Oh god of, oh god of, oh god of, oh god of Akhaten_."

The crowd began to sing along with the Queen.

" _Rest now, my warrior_."

The Doctor looked around, trying to anticipate what came next.

"Lay…" He murmured unsurely. Dean laughed.

" _Lay down, my king_." The Doctor didn't sing.

Dean, however, tried to.

" _Rest now, my warrior_." He sang awkwardly with the crowd. The Doctor smiled down at him.

Then the planet rumbled. The singing abruptly stopped, and the Queen was looking around, absolutely frightened. The people all around them started chattering in their native tongues, all scared and confused.

A beam of light broke through the asteroids in its way as it surged towards the people. It manifested itself around the Queen of Years, levitating her into the air.

Almost immediately, Dean was running to her. He grabbed her hands, digging his feet into the ground as the beam began pulling the girl towards the pyramid.

"Just hold on, Merry! I've got you!" He shouted over the crowd's screams.

The girl screamed, clutching Dean desperately. One of her hands was pulled out of Dean's, and his arm shot back, almost breaking itself. He ignored it, focused on keeping the girl, or Merry, safe.

He was keeping his stance deep, but apparently the gravitational pull was too strong. Dean soared through space, refusing to let go of Merry.

"Dean!" The Doctor shot up from his seat as Dean and Merry were being carried away. They were already too far out for him to catch Dean's foot. He bit his lip. _What the hell is he going to do?_

Something silver glimmered in the corner of his eye. It was a ring. Dean's ring. It must've slipped off when his arm got thrown back.

He picked it up, staring at it indecisively. I mean, how special was it to him? Not that special, right? It's just a ring. How much sentimental value could it hold?

The Doctor took off running into the markets, stuffing the ring in his pocket. He ran for a good minute before he found the booth he was looking for.

"Dor'een!" He shouted, out of breath. The woman smiled at him and bowed. "Listen, big emergency! I need the moped! Could I trade it for this?" He held up the ring with slight trepidation.

Dor'een picked it up with her paw and sniffed it for what felt like a while. After a long, drawn out moment, she nodded, stepping aside so the Doctor could use the moped.

He wasted no time in getting on and starting it. Pretty soon, he was right behind Dean and Merry.

"Dean!" He shouted. The man looked at him, then extended his free hand. The Doctor took it and slammed the moped's breaks.

Merry and Dean were dangling midair as the Doctor tried to pull them back to Akhaten. The moped was hollering, having trouble going against the golden beam.

You could almost smell burning rubber. The moped could barely take the strain, and neither could Merry. She let go of Dean, sending him downwards.

"Ah! No!" She screamed, helplessly squirming towards Dean.

Dean climbed up on the back of the moped urgently. He stood up on the foot rests and watched as Merry was taken inside the pyramid.

"Merry!"


	8. Chapter 8

"Doc, let's go!" Dean shouted over the motor. He heard the Doctor disengage the brakes as they surged towards the pyramid. He grasped the alien as they nearly crashed onto the floating rock.

Dean jumped off of the moped and ran up to the closed door. He banged his fists on it, frustrated. He stepped back, and the Doctor scanned it with his sonic thing.

"Can we get it open?" He asked after a moment.

"The locks change a billion squillion times a minute." He continued to swish his stick through the air. "So, theoretically, no. In reality," He looked at Dean with worry. "Also no. But let's give it a stab."

He ran up and threw his body against the door. He stumbled backwards and landed on his butt.

Dean rolled his eyes and went over to help him up. "If only this door had an actual lock. Then I could pick it." He stood up straight, glaring at the door. "Or shoot it."

"No. No guns. Not ever." The Doctor looked at him sternly before walking back over to the door and scanning it again.

Dean sighed and walked up next to him. "How else can we get in there?"

"I don't think there are any other ways in. But," He stepped back, looking gleefully at his stick. "The screwdriver just locked onto the acoustic lock pattern."

"So you can open the door?" Dean asked hopefully.

In response, he pointed his screwdriver at the door and it slowly started opening. Dean ran up to and and got on his knees so he could look underneath. Merry was standing, frozen, looking at the mummy-thing in a glass casket. There was also a man kneeling on the floor and singing some jumbled up words.

When the door was totally open, Dean rushed inside, moving around the singing man.

"Hello! I'm the Doctor!" The Doctor smiled. "And clearly you've already met Dea-"

"Listen to me, Merry." Dean began cautiously, reaching out for the frightened girl. "We're going to get you out of here. You just need to come with us. Now."

"No! You need to leave! Or you'll wake him!" Merry stepped back.

"We're not leaving here without you."

"No! You said I wouldn't get the song wrong, and I did!" She clasped her hands in her hair. "And now I've woken Grandfather!" She stepped forward and pushed Dean back. "You need to _leave_!"

"You know that this door is _incredibly_ heavy?" The Doctor fell to a knee, the door lowering above him. "So if you could make this as quick as possible, that'd be great."

Dean rolled his eyes, but then looked back at Merry gently. "You're right. It's my fault that this happened. But I also said that _if_ you got the song wrong, I'd be there to protect you." He gestured to himself. "And here I am. Here to protect you from Grandfather. Now come on, we need to move." He held out a hand to her.

She looked down at it, then back at Dean. Her eyes quickly flicked between the two. Then she stepped back with her hands on her temples and shook her head.

"No! He doesn't want you! Go away, or he'll eat you too!" She looked up at him with wet eyes.

Dean shrugged and stepped up to the case. "This guy?" He pointed a thumb at the mummy. "He kinda looks like some of the monsters I've killed. But I know for a fact that someone of his size can't eat all of us."

"Not our meat, our _souls_." Merry furrowed her brows, eyes overflowing with tears. Dean gulped. That could actually be a problem.

Dean stepped towards her, hand outstretched. She put her hands back up to her head. There was an electric shock, and Dean was pushed back against the glass. He couldn't move. He looked down at his body angrily.

"Dammit." He let his head fall against the glass. Merry squeaked at that. Then she looked up at him defiantly.

"He doesn't want you. Only me. Now go, or else he'll eat you up too."

Dean was about to say something about not being able to leave on the account of being stuck, but the Doctor beat him to the punch.

"Yes. That's what you want, isn't it? For the two of us to leave through this really quite astonishingly heavy door and never ever come back?" Merry nodded after a moment. "Right. I see. Well, Dean's right. We're not gonna do that without you."

He tucked his head in and rolled into the room, letting the door slam shut behind him. He stood up, stumbling a bit, and wiped himself off.

Dean hit his head on the glass again. "So, instead of all of us escaping, you let us get trapped in here with a soul eating monster?" He asked with exasperation.

The Doctor nodded before responding. "Yep. I believe I did."

Dean sighed. He looked down at the man, who was still anxiously singing. "Dude, will you cut that out?"

"Relax, Dean. He's just trying to sing the Old God back to sleep. But that's not going to work." The Doctor lowered himself down onto the man's level and put a hand on his shoulder. The man stopped singing. "The song's over?"

The man nodded. "The song is over." He stood up, brushing his robes off. He reached for his wrist, pulling out an odd looking electronic band.

"My name is Chorister Asbethix. And let it be known that the Long Song ended with me." He slapped a button on the band and disappeared.

"Oh well great." Dean snarled. "That asshole decided to leave us trapped in here with a soul eating monster."

"Dean, watch your mouth." The Doctor looked at him before pointing his screwdriver at the mummy. From what Dean could hear, the thing probably woke up, if the snarling and the pounding on the glass was any indicator.

Merry screamed, stepping back. "You've woken him!"

"Oh, great." Dean mumbled. "What's it doing?"

"Well, after such a long nap, one usually needs a good stretch!" The Doctor exclaimed, rounding the glass case. "Also a big snack." Merry moaned uncomfortably, taking another step back. He pointed to her. "It's supposed to feed on you, like you said. It wants to eat your story." His face was grim.

"She said her soul, _not_ her story." Dean retorted.

"Same thing. Souls have no matter. They're completely made up of things we experience through our lives." The Doctor quipped.

"Beg to differ." Dean smirked at the glare he received.

The Doctor rolled his eyes and looked back at Merry. "Doesn't matter. My point is that these people designate a certain soul, a pure soul to be fed to the Old God when he threatens to wake up."

"Doc, tone it down a little."

"No," He turned to Dean before turning back to Merry. "She needs to know the full truth, without it being diluted. She needs to know what sacrificing her soul truly means." The Doctor towered over the little girl, who was shaking with fright. Dean struggled against his restraint, wanting to get in between them.

"It- it means that a god choose me." She stammered.

"No. It's not a god. It can consume your soul, but it's not a god. That there," He pointed to the mummy. "That there is a vampire and you don't need to give yourself to him."

Merry stepped back, tears flowing freely, about to crumple to the floor when the Doctor knelt down and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Can I tell you a story? One I think you haven't heard?" Merry slowly nodded. "All of the elements that make up your body were forged many many years ago in the heart of a far away star that exploded and died. That explosion spread all the different elements across the universe which, after millennia, went on to form many new stars and new planets, and so much more after that. The elements came together, and burst apart, forming things like shoes and ships and sealing wax and cabbages kings. Then, after a while, they came together to form you." He put two fingers over her heart. "You are unique in the universe. There's never been a you before, and there won't be another you after. There's only one Merry Galel."

"And we're not going to let some bastard consume her soul." Dean smiled at them. Merry looked back at him, smiling wider than ever before. His restraints disappeared, and he felt immense relief at standing on the floor again.

"What will happen if I don't give myself to him?" Merry asked wearily.

Dean walked over to her quickly, wanting to comfort her as best he could. "Nothing. Everyone will be okay."

Merry looked up at him with wide eyes. "Promise?"

Dean smiled warmly. He held out his hand for her to take. "Promise." She slowly slipped her hand into his.


	9. Chapter 9

The glass case was starting to break as the mummy kept banging on it. At the same time, the asteroid shook beneath them. Merry cringed and held onto Dean's hand tighter. Dean curled over her protectively. The Doctor started pushing them towards the door before a bone-chilling noise echoed through the chamber.

"What was that?" The Doctor whispered as three cloaked creatures appeared behind them.

Merry gulped. "The Vigil." She said, unmoving. "They're supposed to feed me to Grandfather if I am unwilling."

" _Merry…"_ They growled as they stepped closer.

The Doctor pulled out his screwdriver and pointed it at the creatures. "Stay back! I'm armed!" The creatures stopped and tilted their heads. The Doctor turned on his screwdriver.

Unfazed, the Vigil extended their hands and released a wave of sonic energy. Dean and the Doctor flew backwards into the walls. The Vigil stepped forward and gripped Merry's arms, moving her closer to the mummy.

Dean struggled to get up. To get to Merry. He won't let her die. Not anyone. Not again.

"Dean!" The Doctor shouted at him, crashing him back into reality. He pointed to the screwdriver. "Give it to me!"

Dean grabbed the screwdriver and threw it to the Doctor. The thing whirred to life as he used it to repel the Vigil. Merry scurried away from them, running to Dean. Dean stepped over her, putting himself between her and the Vigil.

"Merry," Dean said, half turning toward her. "Is there anyway we can get out of here?"

Merry closed her eyes in thought. She was shaking violently before she opened her eyes and sang a few notes. Behind them, a wall opened.

Dean grabbed Merry's hand before charging towards the open wall. He led her outside before going back in to get the Doctor. He was still kneeling, pointing his screwdriver at the Vigil.

"Doc!" He shouted. "Come on! We gotta move!"

The Doctor glanced at him before dropping his hand and running over to the opening. Dean ran out after him, the wall closing behind them.

Gasping for breath, Dean fell to the ground, his adrenaline rush ebbing. He looked up to make sure everyone was okay. Merry was panting while she watched the Doctor ranting about something. Doesn't matter. Everyone was okay.

"Dean! Are you listening?" The Doctor kneeled down next to him, getting up in his face.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Dean drawled as he slowly stood up. "I'm getting everything."

"Are you?" The Doctor stood with him. "What was I saying, then?"

Dean thought for a moment. "Something about Grandfather?" He leered at the Doctor.

The Doctor returned the glare. "Actually, I was saying that-" He stopped. Then he started smiling. He giggled and started walking back into the pyramid.

"Wait, Doc, where are you going?" Dean shouted, confused.

He stopped and turned back around. "Take Merry back. Keep her safe. I won't be long." He fiddled with his bowtie before walking away again.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Dean asked again.

Without turning, the Doctor shouted back. "I've figured out how to stop Grandfather!"

Dean wanted to go after him, wanted to help him, but instead he turned around and walked toward the moped. Merry trailed after him, but didn't get on behind him.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Taking you back. Keeping you safe." Dean half smiled as he started the moped. "Come on."

Almost reluctantly, Merry climbed onto the moped. She wrapped her arms around his waist for safety.

"Is your arm going to be okay?" She asked wearily.

Dean smirked. He almost forgot about that. But he can still take her back. "Yeah. It'll be fine. I've had worse."

The moped roared to life as Dean took off. It was hard steering with only one arm. He almost fell off the moped a few times. But he and Merry had made it back to Akhaten soon enough.

Merry immediately got off the vehicle as soon as it landed, running up to her pedestal. She looked at the pyramid, searching for any sign of the Doctor. She looked back at the rumbling crowd of aliens with her eyebrows scrunched together. Like she was trying to figure something out.

"Merry, are you okay?" Dean walked up to her.

She didn't answer. Instead, she turned back to the asteroid and gulped. She looked nervous. She closed her eyes before taking a deep breath. She began to sing.

"Rest now, my warrior."

The sun shook, shaking the entire planet. Dean squinted, trying to see what was happening on the pyramid. The most he could see was a few beams streaming from the sun towards the pyramid.

Dean's eyes widened.

"Rest now, your hardship is over."

He ran back to the crowd, looking for a piece of cloth to secure his arm. He grabbed some from some weird lizard-thing, quickly tying it over his shoulder. Before running back to the moped, he took off his leather jacket and threw it over his broken arm.

"Live. Wake up."

Dean jumped onto the moped, starting it as soon as he was secured. The sun shook again, making the moped wobble as it took off. Behind him, the entire crowd joined Merry in singing.

"Let the cloak of life, cling to your bones."

There was a lot of intense turbulence on the way. The sun was going insane. It was swelling violently, sending out more and more beams of light. They seemed to be focused on one spot by the pyramid. Dean could only hope that it wasn't on the Doctor.

"Cling to your bones."

Dean was off the moped before it landed. He ran around the pyramid as fast as he could, but it seemed too late; the sun had imploded on itself, shrinking in on itself. The Doctor and fallen to the ground and was panting heavily.

"Wake up. Wake up."

"Doc!" Dean ran over, getting onto his knees to make sure the Doctor was okay.

The Doctor huffed and smiled, putting a hand on Dean's shoulder. "Don't worry. EVerything should be fine now.

The ground rumbled again. The sun was expanding again, almost smiling as it did. The Doctor let his head fall down in defeat.

"Live. Wake up."

Shakily, Dean stood up. He took his jacket into his good hand as he stepped toward the edge of the asteroid. He squared his shoulders as an act of defiance against the sun. It really looked as though it was smiling evilly.

"Wake up."

"You see this jacket?" He began as he held it out for the thing to see. "This jacket belonged to my father, John. He was a hero. He saved many, many people before he died. He gave me this jacket to prompt me to save as many people as he did. And he gave his life to save mine."

The sun screwed its face up, looking both annoyed and intrigued.

"And let the cloak of life cling to your bones."

"My father gave his life to one of the most evil things I've ever seen to save mine. His life ended early so mine could continue on." The jacket began disappearing from his hand, being taken by a beam of light. "He died so that I could live! So that I could protect my brother! And you know what, he died for nothing!"

"Cling to your bones."

"He could've saved so many more people if it weren't for me! He could've lived so much more of a life! There's so many more lives he could've saved, so many memories that could've been made if he hadn't died!"

"Wake up."

"If a thousand years of memory didn't satisfy your appetite, then take a million unmade memories from thousands of lives that were lost! Memories that could've happened, but never did!" Dean lowered his hand and glared up at the sun. "Their lives were ended too soon."

Behind him, Dean could hear the Doctor getting up. He wobbled towards him, putting a hand on Dean's shoulder.

"Wake up."

"He's right." The Doctor said to the sun. "There are so many already created memories, but an infinity of unfinished lives. Memories that could've happened, but never did. And an infinity is a lot bigger than so many."

The sun growled as it slowly began shrinking. Its face was struggling as it collapsed in on itself. It

grew darker as the sun totally disappeared.

Dean wiped the sweat off of his brow, subtly wiping the tears away as well. The Doctor smiled at him as he wrapped his arm around Dean's shoulder, pulling him in for a hug.

"Wake up."


	10. Chapter 10

"Have you got the goods?" The demon asked greedily. Sam's scowl deepened as he stepped over to his trunk and pulled it open. The vampire flinched away from the light. The demon smiled wider, leaning down to pick up the squirming vampire.

"Until next time, Winchester." Sam huffed in irritation. The demon smirked and walked towards the building behind it.

Another car pulled up next to him, roaring as it stopped. The car was so crappy, Sam already knew who owned it.

"Hey Bobby." He greeted without looking at the older man.

"Sam." Bobby replied emotionlessly. "Dropping off another catch?"

"Yep. You?"

A rugaru fell on the ground next to him, writhing and growling. "Same here."

Another demon stepped out of the warehouse and plucked the beast off the ground. It didn't say a word as it went back into the building.

"Huh," Bobby leaned back against his car. "He was chatty."

"I'm actually surprised," Sam smiled halfheartedly. "I wish all demons were like that. Especially Crowley."

Bobby snorted and grabbed a couple beers out of his trunk. "Amen to that."

Sam grabbed the beer Bobby offered him and pulled off the cap. He swirled it around a little bit, but didn't drink any.

The air was stiff between the two of them. Sam didn't know why that was the case, but, then again, he didn't care.

"Have you found a way to get your soul back yet?" He asked as he forced himself to have a sip. It went down smoothly, but it didn't feel as good as it did before he went to Hell.

Bobby sighed. "Maybe. Rufus was able to track down something that belonged to his kid which I could use to summon his spirit. That might get us an inch closer."

"Wait," Sam looked over at Bobby, shocked. "Crowley had a kid?"

"Yeah." He took another drink of beer. "I've got more leverage on him than he realizes."

"Good to know. I don't want to be stuck doing his shit forever." Sam tapped his fingers against his beer.

"Any leads on your brother?"

Sam stopped short. Of course Bobby would ask that. He was hoping he would forget about what happened to Dean. Honestly, Sam did. He hasn't been looking.

"Nope. No one in the town saw him disappear. No one even recognized his picture." He took another drink. "But, before he vanished, people were saying there was this huge yellow cloud that made everyone go insane."

Bobby looked at him, puzzled. "What do you mean, 'insane'?"

"Like, Samuel and I talked to someone who was there when the cloud thing hit. She said it made her body burn in agony. She felt new teeth in her mouth, a new hunger in her body. Then, as quickly as she was turned, she was human again." He thought about a few more of the interviews he did. "According to all the witness we talked to, the yellow cloud turned people into monsters, then back to humans."

"Okay," Bobby was looking at him incredulously. "I've definitely never seen or heard of that happening before."

"It's only gonna make our jobs harder." Sam looked at the ground. "That, whatever it is, might still be out there."

"Yeah."

They sat in silence. Bobby was clearly trying to analyze him. He could see him looking out of the corner of his eye. It was kind of annoying how little Bobby trusted him now. He wasn't _that_ different. He's just an even better hunter than before. Nothing's out of place or anything. He feels perfectly fine.

Suddenly, his phone started ringing. No, wait, not his phone. Dean's. He could play that guitar riff if he had a guitar with him. The number that was calling wasn't in Dean's contacts. He answered it with an annoyed, "Hello?"

"Hi, yes, I need your help. I can't get onto my wifi." A British woman chirped on the other line.

Sam blinked. "What?"

"I can't figure out how to get my new laptop onto the house's wifi."

"Uh, okay." Sam leaned up against his car and looked over at Bobby, not sure what to do. Bobby shrugged.

"So, are you going to help me?" She asked.

"How did you get this number?"

"Excuse me?"

"How did you get this phone number?" He narrowed his eyes at nothing.

She was silent for a moment. "The woman in the shop gave it to me."

"The woman in the shop?"

"Yeah," She continued as if this wasn't at all unusual. "She wrote it done, saying 'it's one of the best help lines out there'."

Sam didn't say anything. How'd some British chick get his brother's number without being some booty call? And who the hell was this 'woman in the shop'? It had to be someone who knew about the supernatural. Lisa, maybe.

"Why are you American? Have we started outsourcing the call lines to America now?"

Sam hung up the phone and threw it back into his car. He was not in the mood to deal with some dumbass on the phone treating him like a Call Center.

"Who was that?" Bobby asked.

Sam shrugged. "I don't know. Some British girl asking for help with her wifi."

"Seriously?" Bobby's face contorted in confusion. Sam nodded. "That's weird."

They fell back into their silence easily. Sam could still feel Bobby analyzing him. It was getting really annoying to always feel his eyes whenever they were around each other. He wasn't some new kind of monster, no matter what Bobby wanted to think.

"I've gotta go." Sam said quickly. The situation was getting too heavy for him to want to stick around.

"Alright. Stay safe, ya hear?" Bobby watched him as he got into his car. "And look for your brother. He needs you now more than ever."

"I will." Sam forced a smile. "See ya, Bobby." He drove off without waiting for a response. He didn't need more comments about Dean. As far as he knew, his older brother was dead. And he didn't care.

* * *

Bobby watched as Sam drove off. Now, more than ever, he was worried about the kid. He wasn't himself. He was probably the exact _opposite_ of what he used to be. The kind, smart, empathetic, sassy Sam was gone and what was left was some douchebag.

He wasn't even sure that Sam was looking for Dean. When he brought it up, he looked like he couldn't care less. Honestly, it was kind of scary to see him like this. He used to care about him so much and now…

Now all he could do was pray. After all, he knew it worked. Well, to some extent.

He got into his car and put his beer down. _This better work._

"Castiel," He began trepidatiously. "I pray unto thee to help in my time of need. Both my boys need help. Dean is still missing without a trace. And Sam… he just, doesn't care. He's not the same. He's different. _Bad_ different." Bobby opened his eyes and looked around. The angel must've decided not to appear. "I need you to watch over Sam. And we need you to help us look for Dean. Please, Cas- they're both in need of help. Please be there for them."

He didn't expect to hear from the angel. Which he didn't. Must be up in Heaven trying to quell the civil war. Hopefully he heard his prayer though.

Bobby drove back to his house so he could summon Crowley Jr. Best to get out of one crappy situation before diving head-first into another one.


	11. Chapter 11

Dean sat down, feeling really uneasy. His arm was broken, no big deal, probably the eighth time. But the Doctor was all like 'oh no Dean it's okay I have a thing-a-ma-jig that will heal your wound immediately don't worry'. So, now Dean was stuck sitting in the TARDIS while the Doctor was going god knows what somewhere else.

"Hey, Doc?" Dean shouted as he started to stand. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Oh, don't you worry now!" The Doctor shouted back. "We just need to get your arm all healed up and then we're off!" His voice sounded distant.

Dean walked up to the railing, still clutching his hurt arm. He looked around at what he could see. He even looked beneath the console. No sign of life. "Where are you?"

A hand grabbed him from behind. Startled, he turned around to come face to face with a smiling Doctor. "Right behind you!" He started leading him back to the seat and began fixing the thing in his hand to the TARDIS. 

He looked at the Doctor puzzled. He was just sitting there, trying hard to attach the thing to the object.

"What are you doing? What is that?" Dean poked it with his good arm.

The Doctor made a show of rolling his eyes. "Attaching the atomic conductor to the partical reparation manager."

Dean blinked. "In English?"

"I'm putting the machine together that'll repair your broken bone!" The Doctor threw his head back, exasperated. Dean rolled his eyes and looked around the room boredly. "Did you not finish high school?"

"No." Dean snorted.

Then the Doctor blinked. "You didn't?"

Dean looked away. "Nope. My dad wanted to keep me hunting for life, so he made me pull out. I didn't care, cause at the time, hunting sounded like the best thing I could do. Like it was all I was good for. And I was right, but-"

"Stop that." Dean looked up to the find the Doctor looking at the floor, the partical whatever sitting there, half-finished.

"What?"

"I know I'm not the person who should just be saying this to you, since I've only known you a couple of days, but, you're wrong." He started fiddling with the machine again. "Dean, you just destroyed a sun-god with only a jacket. That's impressive. And you're probably going to say you've 'done a lot more with a lot less', but it's still something no one else can say they've done. Well, maybe, but it's not likely." He smiled warmly at Dean. "Hunting monsters is not all you're good for. You befriended that child so easily, and it helped us save millions of lives back on Akhaten. Two days ago, you had just learned about aliens. Now, you've saved more people than you ever have in your life."

"Well, my brother and I saved our whole planet a few months ago from the Devil. That's 6 billion people right there."

The Doctor's face fell before he shook his head and continued. "You're probably going to save the Earth a lot more while you're with me. It's what me and my friends do. Save everything we can. Cause when you step through that door," He pointed to the TARDIS door. "Everyone becomes a hero. But you were already one before. And now you're one of the greatest heros. No matter what your dad said, or what you believe, you're a hero, and you're destined to save many, many lives." He dropped his hands and leaned in close to him. "That's who you are, Dean Winchester."

Dean blushed and looked away. The Doctor mumbled something else then a prickly warmth swept up his broken arm. It was so… different. He could feel his bones working themselves back into place. He shuddered as his appendage finished clicking back into place.

"There," The Doctor smiled before turning to the TARDIS console. "Does it feel better?"

"Um," Dean stood and flexed his arm. Everything felt normal, as if nothing ever happened. "I guess." He murmured. He lingered by the machine, still processing what the Doctor had spoke about.

The TARDIS whirred to life as the Doctor spun around the console. "How about we go somewhere on Earth? Dinosaur era? 32nd century? What do you think?"

Dean didn't respond as he absentmindedly flexed his newly repaired arm.

"Dean?" He looked up at the Doctor, who was staring at him from across the room. "Where do you want go explore next?"

Dean shrugged and walked up next to the Doctor. He fiddled with one of the controls on the console. "Earth sounds fine." He spoke quietly.

"Alright." The Doctor drawled as he flicked a few of the switches on the TARDIS. They both stayed quiet until they landed.

"Thanks." Dean mumbled.

"Pardon?" The Doctor looked at him, surprised.

"Thanks." Dean said, louder this time. "What you said- no one's ever said anything like that to me. And I really needed to hear that. I've had a really tough time these past few months. So, thanks." He tried his best to avoid eye contact with him.

The Doctor smiled warmly and put a hand on Dean's arm. "You're welcome."

"Besides," Dean began as he lifted his head. "It's always nice to know you're not the only sad sack in the world." He slapped the Doctor's back and started walking towards the door.

The Doctor stopped. "What?"

Dean turned around. "Well, yeah. See, I can read people, and it's easy to tell that you're also carrying some heavy baggage."

"I- I don't have that much baggage." The Doctor laughed. He jogged up next to the human.

"You do. I know, baggage is absolute hell. And you've got a lot." He looked ahead wistfully. "But so have I. And two depressed sons of bitches are better than one, 'cause they know they can help each other out."

"Yeah," The Doctor grinned. "I guess they can." They kept walking towards the door. He stopped them both before the door opened. "Since when do you open up like that? You seem more like a guy who wouldn't do anything about it."

Dean thought for a moment. "I don't know." He looked down at the floor before he looked the Doctor in the eye. "I guess going on adventures in space can change a man." He smiled. "They're actually much more dramatic than hunting."

The Doctor laughed and held out his hand. "Shall we go adventuring?" 

Dean grinned wider. "Let's go."


	12. Chapter 12

"Scotland, 1666!" The Doctor took a deep breath as he stepped out of the TARDIS. "Oh, smell that fresh country air!"

"I have to say, it's nice to be back on," Dean looked at the ground. "... Earth."

"I thought it might be a nice change from fighting sentient stars." The Doctor grinned. "Now," He shuts the TARDIS door. "Shall we?"

Dean smiled. "Let's shall." He stepped forward as the Doctor furrowed his brow.

"That's not grammatically correct." He called out as he followed.

After a couple of minutes of walking, they entered a small village. There weren't many buildings, and many of them were made out of stone. The roads (if you could call them that) were dirt, and all the people looked like extras from 'Braveheart'. They were hauling crops, carrying baskets, and there were even some children running around.

It was exactly what Dean expected a poor Scottish village to look like. "Huh."

"What?"

"The movies were surprisingly accurate." Dean chuckled. "I always thought they were over embellishing these things."

"No, they over embellish being royalty in these time. They got peasant life pretty spot on." The Doctor said as he looked around.

As they walked, a few kids ran by them, squealing with joy. One of them, a chubby faced boy no older than 8, wasn't wearing any bottoms. Dean tried to bite his laughter as the kid ran by again. The Doctor smiled and chuckled.

"You know, I used to do that." He grinned. "Back on Gallifrey."

"Gallifrey?" Dean asked. "Was that your home planet?"

The Doctor gulped. "Yes, it was."

Dean looked at him, how he was blushing and had that mournful look in his eye that was all too familiar. He decided to stop asking questions for a little while.

As he looked around the village again, Dean noticed that the children had stopped playing. They were all standing in a circle, looking very confused and a little scared. He nudged the Doctor, and walked over to the group of kids.

"Is everything okay?" He asked as he kneeled down. Their kids opened the circle and let him join.

"It's Fergus," A little girl said in her thick accent. "He's gone missin'."

"When did you last see Fergus?" The Doctor asked from above.

"Well," The little girl began. "We were runnin' over by the forest, and when we looked back for Fergus, he was gone."

"He just disappeared." A little boy said. "We couldn't even find his tracks."

"Alright. How about my friend and I look for him?" Dean offered with a small smile. "I'm sure he and I can track Fergus down."

The kids looked at each other for a second before the little girl stepped forward and took Dean's hand. She led him and the Doctor to the edge of the town, where a dense forest began. She pointed to a spot. "That's where we last saw him."

"Thank you." Dean smiled. "I promise that we'll find him and bring him back."

The girl nodded shyly before running into a nearby shack.

Dean looked back at the Doctor, who was sniffing the ground like a bloodhound. When he stood back up, he had something pinched between his fingers. He scanned it with his screwdriver, and it popped up.

He smiled. "Yup. This hair belongs to a little boy. He was here." The Doctor looked around the thicket. "And it looks like he was taken in a bit of a scuffle. Some of the weaker branches were broken off of the tree…"

"And there's blood." Dean stated. He was looking at a bunch of leaves with blood droplets on them.

The Doctor lost some of his colour. "Blood?" He leaned down to the pile. "Was it an animal that took him?"

Dean looked grimly through the forest. He could see the sun setting way in the distance. Higher in the sky, he noticed a full moon sitting above them. He took out his silver knife charged through the brambles.

"Dean?" The Doctor yelled, startled. "Where are you going?" He ran after Dean.

Though Dean kept his gaze forward, looking for any sign of the kid and his captor. It was a full minute before he heard crying in the distance. Through the trees, he could make out a man with a twisted face, growling, drooling…

A werewolf.

He launched forward again, leaving the Doctor in the dust. He heard a groan behind him, along with more footsteps. As he broke through to the clearing, the werewolf was looking in his direction. It was scrawny, and obviously hadn't eaten in days. Just as Dean finished his analysis, it pounced on him.

Dean jumped out of the way, letting the werewolf run right into a thick oak tree. It stepped back, dazed, and Dean took his chance. He grabbed the thing by the neck and pushed his dagger through its heart. It wriggled under his arm, whimpered, then went still.

He dropped the corpse and turned to the little boy. The Doctor was already kneeling beside him, consoling him. Fergus had a deep scratch on his privates. It was probably what drew the werewolf, who then led him into the forest for dinner.

Dean sheathed his knife and approached the other two. "Hey kid," He said gently as he went to his knees. "Are you okay?"

Through his tears, Fergus nodded. The Doctor was rubbing his back, saying sweet nothings. It actually did wonders for the kid. He started calming down, though he was still crying.

"Fergus!" A shrill voice yelled. "Fergus, where are you?"

The little boy turned to the direction of the voice. "Mama?" His tears slowed a little more.

Suddenly, a woman about 30 with fiery red hair stepped through the trees. She was dressed a little fancier than the other people from the village, but was no less dirty.

"Fergus!" She smiled, tears filling her eyes. "Fergus, you're okay!" She scooped up her son as he ran towards her. "Oh Fergus, when Lillian came to our shack, I though for sure you were gone!"

Dean and the Doctor stood up and watched as the mother comforted him for a few minutes before looking a the werewolf body behind her.

"You two," She turned toward them. "You killed that thing?" She asked incredulously.

"Unfortunately." The Doctor glared at Dean.

Dean rolled his eyes and looked at the woman. "Yes. It was trying to-"

"Yes, yes, I know. It wanted to eat Fergus." She said, looking at her boy. He was crashed right out in her arms. "I know what werewolves are."

Dean blinked. "You do?"

The woman sighed. "I do. I've dealt with more than a few in my life."

"So you're a hunter?" The Doctor asked.

The woman averted her eyes. Dean stepped forward, reaching into his coat. "What are you?"

"Before you go for another kill, promise me something." She pleaded. "Promise to help me."

The Doctor grabbed Dean's arm, stopping him from grabbing his knife. "Of course we will. What do you need?"

The woman glanced at Fergus again, almost making sure that he was asleep, before she looked back up. "My name is Rowena. I'm a witch. And the Grand Coven is trying to kill me."


	13. Chapter 13

"A what?" The Doctor blurted. "That can't be possible."

"What the hell do you mean?" Rowena gasped. She almost seemed offended.

The Doctor laughed. "Magic isn't real! Werewolves, I can believe. I could probably trace their genetic origin from human evolution, but _witches_? Those are just fairy tales."

Dean laughed awkwardly. He grabbed the Doctor's arm and pulled him back a little. "Rowena, could you give us a minute?" She nodded and turned her focus to Fergus.

"What the hell are you doing?" Dean whispered as soon as they were out of earshot.

"Dean, witches aren't real. I've been around for a while, and in my whole life, I have never come across one. What's the likelihood of running into a witch now?"

Dean rolled his eyes. "Pretty high, seeing as there's one standing behind us," The Doctor looked suspicious. "Look, just keep an open mind. That's what you kept telling me to do on Akhaten. Besides, you might learn something new."

He was about to speak, but stopped. Dean was right. He sighed, defeated. "Fine. I'll go along with these shenanigans." He looked down at Dean's hand. "But you have to stay calm."

Dean looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"No more killing tonight. You've probably already scarred the child. No need to do anymore damage."

"But what if she's tricking us? What if we help her, and she destroys the world?" He argued.

"If that's the case, we'll stop her. But for now, we should help. She doesn't seem dangerous," The Doctor glanced at Rowena out of the corner of his eye. She was rocking Fergus, who had fallen asleep. "She just seems like a woman trying to raise her son."

Dean didn't reply at first. He looked at Rowena, deep in thought. "Fine," He unsheathed his knife and dropped it on the ground. "Now come on." They walked back to Rowena, who was quietly singing a lullaby to her son.

"So… you're a witch?" The Doctor asked hesitantly.

"Yes, I am." She replied without looking up.

"And the Grand Coven is trying to kill you?"

"That is what I said."

"What exactly is the Grand Coven?" Dean asked.

"The Grand Coven is the hierarchy of all witches. They create the laws of magic and enforce them." Fergus started to stir, so she began swaying, calming him. "Any witch who strays from their regulations has to face the consequences."

"So what have you done to deserve death?" The Doctor asked.

Rowena was quiet. When she looked up, her eyes were brimming with tears. "When I tried to join, they scorned me. Forbid me from using my magic. There's enough binding spells on me to take down the British Empire. They were afraid of my power." She took a deep, shaky breath. "I used a little bit of my magic, just to protect Fergus and I. Keep all the monsters away. But when I did, the Coven knew it. They put a price on my head." She began crying softly. "All I wanted was to keep my son safe. And they want me dead for it."

"Hey, hey, it's okay," The Doctor stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll help you. Whatever you need. Right, Dean?"

Dean hesitated before smiling at Rowena. "Of course."

She shakily smiled. "I can't thank you enough. But for now, we need to get to the village. It's almost midnight, and anything could be in these woods."

* * *

The Doctor picked up some weird talisman sitting on Rowena's bench. This witch had the weirdest stuff just laying around her cottage.

"Put that down." Rowena barked from across the room. He obeyed. "You don't know what that thing could do."

She was standing at the table in the center of the room, shoving stuff into a poorly stitched bag. It was mostly odd ingredients and strange charms.

"Why do you need all of that stuff?" The Doctor asked, watching her carefully.

"These will keep me safe from the Grand Coven." She explained as she held up little leather bags with symbols on them. "The rest is stuff I can use in other spells. After all, there are still beasts in the new world."

"Why do you want to go to America?" The Doctor asked as he studied the contents of her bag. "All it is right now is uncharted land. It could be dangerous."

"Anything is better than here. The Coven has no jurisdiction over there, so I should be safe." Rowena closed her bag and slipped the strap around her shoulder. "If I can get there before they can, I'll be safe."

The Doctor nodded his understanding. He smiled as she approached him. She looked up at him before going out of the cottage door.

It was a beautiful day outside. The sun was shining brightly, warming the morning air. The children were out playing, just as they were last night. Fergus was among them, though he was finally wearing his kilt.

They were all running from behind one of the cottages. Behind them was Dean. He was chasing them around, pretending to be a child eating monster. The kids were having so much fun.

Rowena smiled as she watched Fergus play. But while she looked happy, there was a deep sadness in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" The Doctor asked.

"I'm just going to miss this. Fergus is going to have a hard time adjusting to his new life," She replied. "But we should get going. The longer we wait, the more likely the Grand Coven will find us."

"Alright. Let's go grab our boys." He chuckled as they walked out into the open.

"Hey, Doc! Rowena!" Dean smiled as they approached. He had a girl slung over his shoulder. "Are you here to help me eat these children?" He yelled as he began tickling the girl mad. She squirmed and giggled.

"Unfortunately, it's time for us to go." Rowena held her hand out. "Come on, Fergus."

All of the other children aww'ed in unison. Even Dean looked a little upset as he set the little girl on her feet.

"But can't you stay for a little while longer?" Another girl whined. "We want to keep playing with Fergus."

"I'm sorry, Fiona, but we have to leave." She looked grave. "Fergus, say goodbye to your friends."

He waved goodbye. Rowena took his hand and began leading them away. The Doctor and Dean walked behind them. They were silent as they walked towards the tree line.

A line of fire erupted before them, stopping them in their tracks. The Doctor whirled around, only to see a beautiful young woman standing behind them.

"Not so fast, Criminal." The woman thundered. "You must pay for your crimes."

"Nadia." Rowena hissed. "Why are you here?"

"The Grand Coven has ordered your head." Nadia stepped forward, her eyes glowing a dangerous purple. "I'm here to collect it." She began muttering things in Latin. The Doctor didn't even want to guess what she was saying.

At the same time, Rowena quelled the fire blocking their path to the TARDIS. They took off, disappearing into the forest.

The fire kept coming. The Doctor did his best to avoid it, but his jacket still caught on fire once or twice. Soon, the TARDIS had come into view. He snapped his fingers, opening the doors wide. They all ran inside, and the Doctor instantly at the console setting their coordinates. Dean was just about to shut the doors when Nadia appeared inside.

"You're not getting away that easy." She said. " _Hostem stupebit._ " She shouted, releasing a green ball of light from her palm.

" _Praesidium_!" Rowena shouted, creating an ethereal shield in front of her. Her eyes were fierce, but not glowing like Nadia's. " _Volant auferetur_!" She pointed at Nadia and lifted her up. Rowena pivoted, and sent her through the doors.

Before she was launched out, Nadia did one final spell. " _Veni ad me_."

The second she was out, Dean began shutting the doors and the Doctor started take off. But by the time they noticed, Fergus was already through the doors.

The TARDIS whirred as it took off, leaving Fergus with Nadia. He was probably already dead.

Dean made eye contact with the Doctor, both of them stunned. They looked at Rowena who was frozen, staring at the doors.

She collapsed to her knees, sobbing madly.

" _Fergus!"_


End file.
